The Right to Information Act 2009 commenced on 1 July 2010 and provides for greater access to information held by government bodies by:

• authorising and encouraging greater active and routine disclosure of information held by public authorities in response to informal requests without the need for applications;
• giving members of the public an enforceable right to information held by public authorities; and
• providing that access to information held by government bodies is restricted in only limited circumstances which are defined in the Act.

Applications for information need to be made to the department, authority or council holding the relevant information or most closely linked to the information. If you are unsure if Treasury is the agency you should apply to for the information you are seeking, emai​l us.

You may submit an application in writing and include the information requested under regulation 5 of the Right to Information Regulations 2021. 

A form is provided to assist you with your application: 

 Right to Information Application Form - current from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 (DOCX 69Kb)​

Post your completed application to:

Right to Information Officer
Department of Treasury and Finance
GPO Box 147
HOBART TAS 7001

or email: 

rti@treasury.tas.gov.au

Applications are to be accompanied by the application fee. This fee is 25 fee units, which is $44.50 until 30 June 2024.

You may apply to have the fee waived if:

• you are in financial hardship - we take that to mean that you are on income support payments (we would usually ask to see evidence that you are in receipt of Centrelink or Veterans' Affairs payments);
• you are a Member of Parliament and the application is in connection with your official duty; 
• you are a journalist and the application is in connection with your official duty; or
• you are able to give us information which shows that the information sought is intended to be used for a purpose that is of general public interest or benefit.
  

• We will check your application to make sure we have the information we need and that you have paid the application fee or qualify for a fee waiver if requested.
• We may transfer your application to another public authority if we do not believe we are best placed to provide you with the information.
• Before your application is accepted, we may need to contact you to ask about your application to understand your request.
• An officer will assess your application against the Right to Information Act and let you know the outcome of that process in writing.
• You will be notified of the decision on your application for assessed disclosure as soon as practicable but in no more than 20 working days of the application being accepted. If your request is complex or for a large amount of information, we may ask you to give us more time.
• If there is a need to consult with a third party about their business affairs or about their personal information, more time is automatically given and we will let you know the outcome as soon as practicable but no later than 40 working days. We will let you know if this is required.

If the application or part of the application is refused, then the reasons for the refusal to provide the information will be provided as part of the decision together with details on your right to seek a review of the decision (see review process below).

Principal Officer
Right to Information
Department of Treasury and Finance
GPO Box 147
HOBART TAS 7001

or email: 

rti@treasury.tas.gov.au

In some cases, you may also be able to seek an external review by the Ombudsman:

• If we do not get back to you in the timeframe allowed then we may be taken to have refused your application and you are able to make an application for external review to the Ombudsman without applying for an internal review first.
• If you have applied for internal review and are unhappy with the internal review decision, then you may apply to the Ombudsman for an external review.​
  

Information on reviews by the Ombudsman can be found on the Ombudsman Tasmania website. 

Since 9 June 2015, all government agencies have been required to publish certain information released in response to Right to Information requests online within 48 hours of the information being sent to the applicant. This only applies to information released that is considered to be in the public interest, not requests for personal information.

Information can be found in our RTI disclosure log​.

Treasury's Information Disclosure Policy and Principles document has been developed in accordance with section 23 of the Right to Information Act and outlines the policy and principles that are followed by all officers within the Department of Treasury and Finance to ensure a consistent and sound approach in relation to the disclosure of information.​

Information Disclosure Policy and Principles (Right to information) 

The Ombudsman's Right to Information Manual and Guidelines provide more detail on making requests under the Act and how they are processed by the agency to which the request is sent.

Right to Information publications - Ombudsman Tasmania website

You also can view, download and print the Right to Information Act and Regulations on the Tasmanian Legislation website.

Right to Information Act 2009
Right to Information Regulations 2021